Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences Program, S.F.R.C., University of Florida, 7922 NW 71st, Gainesville, FL, 32653, USA.
Materials Science and Engineering, University of Florida, PO Box 116400, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA.
Sci Rep. 2021 Mar 16;11(1):6029. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-85388-y.
A microscopic study of microplankton in two coastal lagoons in the Florida Keys coincidently, and unexpectedly, revealed the widespread presence of high concentrations of polystyrene microplastic particles. The polystyrene particles were first observed in the second year of a 2-year study of phytoplankton communities, with peak densities in the spring/summer of 2019 at all ten sampling sites in the two lagoons. Polystyrene particle densities reached levels up to 76,000 L. The particles ranged in size from 33 to 190 µm, similar to the size range of microplanktonic algae (20-200 µm). Over the period of peak polystyrene densities, average particle densities were similar to average densities of microplanktonic algae cells. The latter observation highlights the potential significance of the microplastic particles for the ecology of the pristine waters of the Florida Keys, if they persist.
在佛罗里达群岛的两个沿海泻湖中进行的微浮游生物微观研究出人意料地揭示了高浓度聚苯乙烯微塑料颗粒的广泛存在。在为期两年的浮游植物群落研究的第二年首次观察到聚苯乙烯颗粒，在 2019 年春季/夏季，两个泻湖的所有十个采样点的密度达到峰值。聚苯乙烯颗粒的密度达到了高达 76,000 个/L。这些颗粒的大小范围为 33 至 190 µm，与微浮游藻类（20-200 µm）的大小范围相似。在聚苯乙烯密度峰值期间，平均颗粒密度与微浮游藻类细胞的平均密度相似。后一种观察结果强调了这些微塑料颗粒如果持续存在，对佛罗里达群岛原始水域生态的潜在重要性。
